Mercedes star George Russell is thrilled to be starting tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix from pole, but he has left no doubt as to what he thinks about the new regulations in 2026.
“These new cars are very hard to drive,” Russell admitted during a post-qualifying press conference.
The British driver – who clinched his maiden Australian Grand Prix pole – was surprised by the gap between the Mercedes and other cars.
Both he and Antonelli commended the Mercedes team for their work on the 2026 car with Russell calling it “an amazing car”.
“I think the goal for us is to make the finish line because we honestly don’t know what’s going to happen [tomorrow on race day],” Russell said.
“Of course, we want to win, we want to be on board, we want to dominate the weekend, but it’s a really long season, and we need to get through tomorrow and just have a clean race, because at any point you can stumble, and that could be the end of your day.”
A candid Isack Hadjar was pleased with his result in third but admitted Red Bull does not have the pace to challenge the Mercedes.